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Bill Arnett

Bill Arnett

Founder and director of the Chicago Improv Studio, veteran improv teacher at iO Theater, and author of The Complete Improviser (2016).

Aug 23, 2026

22:13
So I've been like kinda like working through the system of people that I know that work for Disney, like trying to get like some information or optics or like let me just find out what, like the email algorithm is for Disney employees.
22:27
The lesson that's been missing, in my opinion, after ha- substituting for several years and going to teaching school, has been a presumption, and, and it's not a full presumption, but it's, it's kind of this, let's just assume that all students are the same and have the same motivations and same willingness to be there.
22:43
Now we do, they, they have different backgrounds, and there are diff- they are coming from different places, and they may be different learners and whatnot, but all that is just kind, it, it feels kind of hand wavy sometimes, and we spend far more time talking about different testing strategies and whatnot.
22:56
But as a sub, I feel like it is so dif- that, that's the variable.
23:00
That's like the, the key.
23:01
Like, if I said to you, "All right, Mark, we're gonna be teaching an algebra one class.
23:05
Pick whatever syllabus you want for algebra one.

19 MINS LATER

41:52
We should be canceled right now.
21:15
So I've been like kind of like working through the system of people that I know that work for Disney, like trying to get like some information or optics or like, let me just find out what like the email algorithm is for Disney employees.
21:28
The lesson that's been missing, in my opinion, after substituting for several years and going to teaching school has been a presumption.
21:36
And it's not a full presumption, but it's kind of this, let's just assume that all students are the same and have the same motivations and same willingness to be there.
21:44
Now we do, they have different backgrounds and they are coming from different places and they may be different learners and whatnot.
21:50
But all that is just kind of, it feels kind of hand wavy sometimes.
21:53
And we spend far more time talking about different testing strategies and whatnot.
21:57
But as a sub, I feel like it is so – that's the variable.

13 MINS LATER

35:10
Yeah.
MaryHOST
22:10
So I've been, like, kinda, like, working through the system of people that I know that work for Disney, like, trying to get, like, some information or optics or, like, let me just find out what, like, the email algorithm is for Disney employees.
22:24
The lesson that's been missing, in my opinion, after ha- substituting for several years and going to teaching school, has been a presumption...
22:32
And, and it's not a full presumption, but it's, it's kind of this, let's just assume that all students are the same and have the same motivations and same willingness to be there.
22:40
Now, we do...
22:40
They, they have different backgrounds, and there are diff- they are coming from different places, and they may be different learners and whatnot.
22:45
But all that is just kind...
22:47
It, it feels kind of hand-wavy sometimes, and we spend far more time talking about different testing strategies and whatnot.

19 MINS LATER

42:22
[laughs]

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